


Love On the Ice

by cherylwoo



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-29
Updated: 2013-07-28
Packaged: 2017-12-16 13:15:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/862424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherylwoo/pseuds/cherylwoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yao is a figure ice-skater. At a performance, Arthur sees Yao and sparks fly – he falls in love with Yao. He tries his utmost best to make Yao his. This is their love story. England/China, Denmark/Norway, hints of Spain/Belgium. Rated for sexual content and implications.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Remind me why I’m here again?” asked Arthur in an exasperated tone as he looked at his “date”. Well, they weren’t exactly dating, but Bella’s boyfriend, Antonio, couldn’t make it at the last minute, and so Arthur, as one of her best friends, had reluctantly volunteered to fill in for Antonio.

“Because I asked, and you can’t say ‘no’ to me,” chirped Bella.

Arthur glanced at the ice-skating rink. It was currently empty, as the show hadn’t yet started. “Why do you watch this rubbish, anyway?”

“Excuse me?!” Bella looked affronted. “Ice-skating is a form of art! It takes a lot of practice to perfect this art!”

“Okay, okay,” Arthur held his hands up in mock-surrender. “Whatever you say…”

“Shut up!” hissed Bella. “It’s starting!”

The show began with the singles performances, whereby individual men and women came out and performed their routine. Arthur had to admit, he was a little impressed with the way these men and women could perform those jumps, spins, spirals, step sequences… They were so quick and flexible. Bella was right – it DID take a lot of practice in order to ice-skate properly.

After the singles performances, there was a brief intermission, whereby Bella left to go to the washroom. So, Arthur was left by himself for a while. Not that he minded. It gave him a chance to observe the spectators of the show. Arthur noted that there were more females in the audience than males. Perhaps, like him, the males simply weren’t interested in figure skating. Also, a great majority of the audience were of the younger generation, which was to be expected, as he presumed that older people couldn’t keep up with the fast-paced sport.

As soon as Bella returned to her seat, the show continued. This time, the pair skaters appeared. Pair skaters consisted of one male and one female, Bella had explained. According to her, pair skating was more interesting compared to singles skating, as the pair would have to work together to produce a fantastic show. Besides, skating in pairs allowed the duo to do much more fancy stunts, such as throwing the female of the duo into a jump, holding the female above the male’s head in a variety of grips and positions, pair spins, death spirals, or any other elements that were deemed suitable.

Arthur watched the pair skaters in disinterest. He even hid a yawn behind his hand, so as not to offend Bella.

However, when a pair of Asian figure skaters appeared on the rink, Arthur felt his jaw drop. They were both gorgeous. The female of the duo was clad in a shiny blue and silver single-strapped mini-dress, while the male of the duo had on a shiny blue top and long pants. Their costumes were very tastefully designed.

But Arthur found himself drawn to the male of the pair. He had long hair which was tied back into a neat ponytail that swished delicately behind him everytime he moved. He looked a bit feminine, but it was still obvious that he was a man. Arthur was mesmerised. He was transfixed.

As the Asian pair did their routine on the rink, Arthur couldn’t help but marvel at how graceful the pair looked on ice. Their movements were flawless. As the man threw the woman high up in the air, there was a collective gasp of awe from the crowd. Then, they sighed in relief when he managed to catch her.

The skaters finished their routine, and the crowd went wild for them. That was by far the best routine of the night.

“Give it up once again for Yao and Mei!!” screamed the announcer through his microphone. “Wasn’t that an amazing performance?!”

Smiling widely, both skaters bowed and waved to the audience. They then retreated backstage to make way for the next performers.

_So the man’s name was Yao…_ Arthur had a pensive look on his face. He wouldn’t deny that he felt an attraction towards Yao. Arthur knew from an early age that he was bisexual, and had had his fair share of girlfriends and boyfriends. But none of them had made his heart flutter the way it did as he watched Yao perform in the ice-skating rink.

Arthur decided that he would sneak backstage and meet Yao once the show was over. Indeed, he was not one for tact – when he wanted something, he was not discreet about it.

After the show, Arthur excused himself. Bella frowned and she enquired as to why Arthur was leaving her.

“It’s just for a while!”

Bella raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Arthur decided to just be straightforward. “One of the performers has caught my fancy, okay? I’m just going to go backstage to check him out.”

Bella’s look of annoyance quickly turned into a suggestive leer. “Ooh!” she squealed. “Take your time then! I’ll wait for you in your car!”

Arthur rolled his eyes and pushed Bella away towards the direction of the carpark. Then, he manoeuvred himself through the crowd to make his way backstage. It was surprisingly easy, and security was rather lax. But Arthur was not complaining – it made his work all the more easier.

Once Arthur was backstage, he encountered a flurry of ice-skaters. He had to push his way through them in order to get past them.

After a while, Arthur managed to free himself from the crowd of ice-skaters. Then, he spotted the object he was looking for.

Yao.

Yao was standing by a locker. He was now dressed in a white tracksuit. He was wiping his skates with a towel, presumably cleaning them before he kept them.

His partner, Mei, looked like she was fully dressed and all ready to go. She was talking animatedly to Yao, who seemed to be listening, but not making any verbal reply. “So I told him I didn’t want to date a douchebag like him, and you know what he said?!”

Yao put his skates in his locker and looked at Mei questioningly.

“He had the gall to compare himself to my past boyfriends!! The nerve of that bastard!” Mei fumed. “How I wish the male population was as gentlemanly as you, big brother…”

So they were brother and sister. Now that Arthur thought about it, there was a family resemblance between Yao and Mei. No wonder they both looked so good on the rink. It was in their genes.

“Oh, look! There’s Hong Kong!” Mei suddenly cried out, pointing towards the exit. “He’s come to pick us up!”

Arthur’s eyes shot towards the exit. A young man with a pokerfaced and bored expression had just entered. His features were similar to that of Yao and Mei, indicating that they, too, were related. Probably another sibling.

“And to protect your integrity, aru,” deadpanned Yao.

“You’re hilarious, big brother!” Mei smacked Yao on his shoulder. “It’s obvious that Hong Kong worries more about other men getting into your pants than into mine!”

Yao turned bright red at that. “Where did you learn such language?!”

Mei rolled her eyes and waved a hand at Yao’s face. “Come on, big brother – I’m a grown lady now. I pick up things like these, you know.”

Arthur decided that now was the perfect time to strike up a conversation with Yao. Nervously, Arthur approached the Asian man as soon as his sister darted away from him. “Hello, Yao, is it?”

Yao looked up. “Yes? Can I help you, aru?”

Arthur shifted his feet anxiously. “I’m Arthur,” he introduced himself. “I was watching…”

Yao smiled a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you.” He extended his hand out to be shaken.

Arthur took Yao’s proffered hand and shook it gingerly. Well, at least Yao was nowhere near to calling the police. Not many people would take well to a random male approaching them.

“I was watching you skate, and it was an amazing performance!” complimented Arthur.

“Oh,” Yao blushed. “Thanks, aru.”

“I uh, I was wondering, if I could take you for a coffee or something? I know you’re probably busy now, but maybe…”

Yao stared at Arthur. Was this man asking him out? Well, he wasn’t unpleasant to look at, so maybe Yao should try going out with this man. After all, his siblings were always telling him to get a life and stop harping on theirs. “Sure.”

Arthur’s head shot up. “Seriously?”

Yao nodded, and his demeanour towards Arthur turned somewhat warmer. He smiled sweetly at Arthur. “I’m not too fond of coffee, but I’m sure we can work something out, aru. Here’s my number,” he said slipping a card into Arthur’s hand. “Call me,” he winked at Arthur. Then, he turned around and joined his siblings. They left together.

Arthur looked at the card Yao had just given him. Yao’s number was written in neat handwriting on it. Arthur signed in contentment and cradled the card to his chest. It would be his most prized possession.

Gosh, Arthur felt like a fanboy.

But he didn’t care.

* * *

“Did you find him?” Bella asked Arthur when he got into his car.

“I did,” said Arthur distractedly. He looked very pleased with himself.

“Who is he?”

“The pair skaters – he’s part of the Asian pair?”

“Oh!” Bella brightened at Arthur’s explanation. “That was the best performance of the night! Good on you! Is he dating anyone?”

“Not that I know of… his partner is his sister.”

“So what did you do?”

Arthur tried to shrug nonchalantly. But his heart was beating too fast. “I asked him if I could take him out for coffee someday.”

“And?”

“He said he doesn’t like coffee, but we could work something out. He even gave me his number!” Arthur waved the card with Yao’s number on it excitedly in front of Bella’s face.

“That’s awesome!” Bella reached out to clap Arthur on his back.

Arthur nodded happily. He then started his car. “I don’t know, Bella,” he admitted. “I just feel that…  he’s the one.”

Bella smiled gently at Arthur. “I hope for your sake that he’s the one as well. You’ve had your heart broken by far too many sleazeballs. At least this ice-skater person seems nice.” Bella couldn’t remember a time when she was not judgemental of the partner Arthur started dating – they were mostly dodgy, had something to hide, or were money-sucking bitches and bastards who were only after Arthur’s money. Moreover, they often pursued Arthur because they wanted something out of him. This time, Arthur was the pursuer – that was a refreshing change.

Arthur grinned at Bella, and reversed his car. “I’m going to call him tomorrow,” he announced.

“You do that, lover-boy!” Bella teased.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Arthur gave Yao a call.

“Hello?”

“May I speak to Yao?” Actually, Arthur recognised Yao’s voice, but he just wanted to be on the safe side.

“Speaking.”

“This is Arthur, from last night?”

“Oh! Arthur!” Yao sounded happy to hear from Arthur. Arthur presumed that it was a good thing. “Hello, aru!”

“Are you up for grabbing a cup of tea later?”

“Tea?”

“Uh, I remembered you said you didn’t like coffee. And personally, I don’t like coffee as well…”Arthur babbled.

There was laughter at the other end of the line. “You are funny, aru!” Yao said in an affectionate tone. “I would love to have tea later. But I have to go for ice-skating practice…”

“What time does it end?”

“At 3pm,” replied Yao.

“That’s alright! I’ll meet you at 3pm then! At the ice-skating rink?”

“Huh? You want to pick me up, aru?”

“Of course!”

“Oh. Okay then. I’ll see you at three!”

“See you too. Bye!”

“Bye!”

When Arthur hung up, he couldn’t stop smiling.

* * *

Arthur reached the rink early. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of Yao practicing. He was not disappointed – Yao was in the midst of launching himself into an axel jump when Arthur arrived.

Yao’s coach, a small middle-aged man, was clapping and nodding when Yao landed and did a little twirl on the ice. He made Yao perform the axel jump a few more times, and then he dismissed Yao. “I’ll see you on Monday with Mei, okay?”

“Alright!” replied Yao. He skated towards the entrance of the rink. Yao caught Arthur watching him from the stands, and he waved at the Englishman.

Arthur waved back. He stood up and made his way towards the figure skater.

“Do you mind if I just run behind and keep my skates, aru? It won’t take long.”

“Not at all,” the Englishman replied quietly. “Take your time.”

When Yao reappeared a little while later, he was wearing sneakers. Arthur was impressed that Yao could make himself look so good in so little time. Not that he didn’t already look good before…

“So where are we going, aru?”

“Just to a nearby café. It is quite heavily British-influenced. We can have some cakes and scones as well.”

“Oh! I haven’t tried a scone before! I have heard of English people talking about it…”

“Well,” Arthur scratched his head and swung open the door for Yao to exit. “It’s quite plain… but I think if you eat it with cream or jam, it’s delicious.”

“Okay, then I must try a scone, aru!”

Arthur smiled inwardly at how excited Yao got over food. “I shall order some scones for you then.”

Yao grinned at Arthur as he was led to the latter’s car. Arthur opened the passenger’s door for Yao and he got into the car.

Arthur, himself, got into the driver’s seat. “Mei isn’t with you today?” he enquired, starting the engine.

“No,” Yao shook his head. “We may be partners, but we don’t always practice together. Sometimes, the coach just wants us to practice our techniques, and we don’t have to be together for that, aru. Besides, Mei is still a full-time student, so she has to concentrate on her studies.”

“I see,” Arthur replied. He looked at the back and side mirrors of his car for any incoming cars. When there were none, he started driving. “The both of you skate very well together.”

“Thanks,” Yao replied shyly. “It started off as a hobby for me, but Mei eventually talked me into making it a profession.”

Arthur smiled. “She’s not wrong. You’re a fantastic skater.”

Yao laughed. “Well, you can tell that to my brother.”

Arthur glanced at Yao through the rearview mirror. “What do you mean?”

“My brother – he’s a bit apprehensive about this career choice of mine. He says an athlete’s career is done by the time he’s 25. 28 or 29, tops, if he’s lucky. That gives me about three to seven more years.”

Arthur did a quick mental calculation. That meant that Yao was 22 years old. He was 24, himself, so it wasn’t too big of an age gap, and none of them could be considered a paedophile. Nowadays looks could be deceiving – one could be younger than he looked or vice versa. “I guess you can do other things then…”

“Or I’d have made a fortune by then, and I don’t have to work anymore, aru,” said Yao as he wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

Arthur chuckled. He liked that Yao also had a good sense of humour. “Perhaps.”

Yao smiled to himself and turned his attention to the scenery passing by.

“So… this brother of yours… is he the one I saw yesterday?”

Yao turned towards Arthur and frowned. “Who you saw…? Oh, you mean Hong Kong, aru?” he said in acknowledgement. “No… Hong Kong’s more of a ‘do what you want and I don’t care’ kind of person,” Yao told Arthur. “This brother is my first brother, Kiku.”

“It sounds like you have a lot of siblings.”

“Would four be considered a lot, aru?” Yao snickered. “There are five of us in total: me, I’m the oldest. Then there’s Kiku, Yong Soo, Mei and then Hong Kong. Mei is the only girl, so she gets pampered quite a lot.”

By then, they had reached their destination, so Arthur started to look for a parking slot for his car. “Well, your family sounds very interesting,” he told Yao. “I’d like to meet them someday.”

“I’m cooking dinner for them on Monday, so maybe you’d like to join us, aru? You can meet my brothers and sister for yourself then.”

Arthur was so surprised at the invitation that he almost crashed into a tree. He stepped on his brake hurriedly and then looked at the Asian man in disbelief. “Don’t you think it’s kind of soon to invite me over to your house for dinner? I mean, we’ve only met last night!”

Yao shrugged and looked away bashfully. “You seem like a good person. And I don’t feel threatened by your presence. I’d say it’s safe, aru.”

“If you’re sure…” said Arthur uncertainly. He finally found a parking slot and turned his car into it. “Is it okay for you to cook for me as well?”

“Of course!” Yao waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll just cook a little more, aru!”

Arthur grinned, mostly to himself. He was glad Yao was so easy-going and fun to be with.


	3. Chapter 3

On Monday, Yao was busy cooking dinner in the kitchen when Hong Kong peeked inside. His brother was chopping up the garlic, and was humming a happy tune to himself.

Hong Kong was bewildered. It wasn’t like his brother at all to be so randomly joyful.

“Brother?” Hong Kong called. “Like, is everything okay?”

“Hm? Yes, why do you ask, aru?” Yao’s eyes did not leave the ingredients he was cutting up on the kitchen counter.

“You seem… happy,” pointed out Hong Kong.

“Can’t I be happy?”

“No… it’s not that. You’re not yourself. You’re strangely very happy… for some reason.”

Yao looked at Hong Kong with a secretive smile. “If I tell you, will you promise not to tell Kiku, Yong Soo and Mei, aru?”

Hong Kong shrugged. “Okay.”

“Especially not Mei,” emphasised Yao.

Hong Kong rolled his eyes. Mei tended to blow everything out of proportion, so the siblings usually let her in on something last. “Yes.”

“I think I’ve found my soulmate,” said Yao. He had a dreamy look in his eyes.

“What?!” Hong Kong’s eyes narrowed. Part of him felt happy for his brother, but another part of him wanted to hunt down that person and chop that person into tiny, little pieces. Finally, Hong Kong managed a smile. “Who is it?” he croaked.

“You remember a few nights ago when you picked Mei and I up from the rink, and there was a blonde man talking to me, aru?”

“What?! You must have talked to him for not more than five minutes!”

“Actually, he took me for tea the next day,” explained Yao. “After talking to him… I can’t help but feel that we have chemistry. We just clicked, aru. I think he’s the one,” said Yao wistfully.

“That’s like, why you’re in such a good mood?”

Yao shrugged. “I guess,” he replied. Then, his eyes shifted to fall on Hong Kong unsurely. “You don’t mind that he’s a man?”

Hong Kong shook his head immediately. “Not at all!” he said. “We accepted you when you came out to us many years back, didn’t we? And since it’s the first time you ever expressed interest in someone…”

“Anyway, he’s coming over for dinner tonight. I want him to sample my cooking and I want to make a good impression on him, so don’t disturb me, aru!” With that, Yao pushed Hong Kong out of the kitchen.

“Big brother, you know you can’t screw up cooking even if you tried,” deadpanned Hong Kong. Then he turned serious. “But please promise me – you’ll be careful around this guy. Don’t make any hasty decisions.”

Yao nodded casually. “Yes, yes… Sometimes you sound just like Mama used to.”

Hong Kong grinned. “Well, someone has to like, look out for you!”

Yao puffed his chest out proudly. “I’m the oldest brother, aru! If anything, I should be the one looking out for you all!”

“Whatever you say, big brother…”

* * *

When Arthur arrived at Yao’s house that evening, Hong Kong had just set some fireworks off. Arthur watched in amusement as the dog (Pochi, was it? Well, he knew it belonged to Kiku) jumped in fright and scrambled for dear life.

Arthur didn’t have any problem looking for Yao’s house, as he had memorised the route when sending Yao back home after they had had tea together. Pochi had greeted Yao as he returned, and that was how Arthur was introduced to the white, fluffy dog.

Arthur rang the doorbell, and Yao answered the door a short while later. “Sorry!” Yao was panting. “Hong Kong… he can be a bit of a handful!”

Arthur shook his head and told Yao that he didn’t mind. “There’s such a lively atmosphere in your home,” he commented. “I think it’s very nice.”

“Try living with it every day of your life – trust me, you would want some quiet once in a while, aru.”

Yao showed Arthur to the living room. “Make yourself at home,” he told Arthur. “I’m just getting the food ready – Kiku and Yong Soo should be back soon as well.”

Arthur nodded. “Okay. Take your time.”

Hong Kong and Mei were in the living room, watching the news on TV. When Arthur plopped himself down on the one-seater sofa, both their eyes turned towards him.

“Hello,” greeted Mei cheerfully. “Who are you?”

“I, uh,” Arthur began nervously. Was this what meeting your potential partner’s parents also felt like? Arthur never knew – he had never met any of his previous partner’s family members. He cleared his throat. “I’m Arthur. I uh, I saw you skating on Thursday night with Yao. You skate very well.”

Mei beamed, pleased that she had been complimented by a stranger.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, was sizing Arthur up. Arthur, Hong Kong mused, was pretty good-looking. He could see why Yao was attracted to him. But did he make a good companion for his brother? Would he take care of and protect his brother? Hong Kong decided to reserve his judgement for after dinner.

“So… what do you do for a living, Arthur?” Hong Kong asked. He needed to make sure this man could provide for his brother if they ever ended up together. Not that Yao couldn’t support himself… but Hong Kong just wanted to know.

“Huh?” Arthur blinked. He was not expecting such a question about his career yet. “I’m a financial analyst at a multi-national corporation…”

“Okay.” Hong Kong nodded his approval. At least he now knew that Arthur’s finances were secure.

“Hong Kong and I are still studying,” Mei told Arthur. “I’m in my final year, whereas Hong Kong is still in his second year.”

Arthur chuckled. “I wish I could go back to studying…” he muttered. “What are you studying?”

“I’ve taken up mass communications, but I’m not sure if I’m going to pursue that in the long run. I love ice-skating more,” Mei admitted sheepishly. “Hong Kong is studying economics.”

As if on cue, two other Asian men appeared through the front door.

“Oh, brothers Kiku and Yong Soo are home!” said Mei. “Come on, I’ll introduce you!”

Arthur glanced at Hong Kong, who tilted his head in encouragement. So, he stood up and followed Mei.

“Brother Kiku, brother Yong Soo!!” called Mei as she made her way towards the two older males.

“Oh, hello Mei, da-ze!!” said the more cheerful one of the two. “You won’t believe what happened today…”

“Yeah yeah, save it for later,” Mei said, holding a hand up to silence him. “Brother Yong Soo, this is Arthur. He’s big brother Yao’s… friend?” At that, she looked unsurely at Arthur for confirmation.

Would Arthur be considered Yao’s friend? After all, they hadn’t even known each other for a week yet. Arthur shrugged and shook hands with Yong Soo.

Mei then moved her attention to the quieter male. “This is brother Kiku,” explained Mei. “He doesn’t say or react much, but rest assured, he’s listening to you!” she joked.

Arthur extended his hand for Kiku to shake.

Kiku shook his hand with a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” replied Arthur.

Yao chose that moment to appear from the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready, you guys,” he announced.

“Okay!!” chorused the four siblings. Kiku, however, excused himself to change into something a little more comfortable. Yao nodded his assent.

The five of them made their way into the dining hall. When Arthur saw the food that was laid out on the table, he couldn’t help but salivate a little. The food looked scrumptious. Even if it was Asian food and Arthur wasn’t used to it. “Wow, the food looks great!” Arthur commented.

Yao quickly turned to look at Arthur. “Really, aru? You think so?”

“Really.”

Yao turned pink and looked most pleased with himself. If such a simple compliment made Yao look so cute like that, Arthur swore that he would shower Yao with even more compliments in the future.

* * *

After dinner, when Arthur had left and Yao’s siblings had all retreated to their respective rooms, Yao stayed behind in the kitchen to wash the dishes, and to clean up the pots and pans he had used to cook.

Suddenly, Hong Kong’s voice appeared behind Yao. “I approve.”

“Huh?” Yao turned around to face Hong Kong. “What do you approve of, Hong, aru?”

“Arthur,” said Hong Kong. “I approve of him. In general. You like, have my blessing to date him.”

Yao stared at Hong Kong for a moment. Then, he burst into laughter. “Who are you to approve the person I want to date?”

Hong Kong looked offended. “I’m just looking out for you!” he retorted. “Arthur’s a good man. An idiot could probably see that.”

Yao’s expression melted into a gentle, loving smile. “Well, it means the world to me that you approve of my choice, aru.”

Hong Kong offered his brother a kind smile. He would have embraced his brother, but it was not in Hong Kong’s temperament to show affection that way. “I hope it all works out for you.”


	4. Chapter 4

Two days later, Arthur went to see Yao at the ice-skating rink. Yao had told him that he’d be there, so Arthur was looking forward to seeing him practice again. However, there was no sign of Yao. Instead, Mei was skating in circles around the rink, while her coach was talking to another coach.

When Mei caught sight of Arthur, she waved excitedly. “Hi, Arthur!!” she called.

“Hello, Mei,” greeted Arthur, making his way to the edge of the rink.

“So what are you doing here?” asked Mei casually as she leaned on the railing that separated the ice from dry land.

“Uh, I was looking for Yao. Is he here?”

“Oh.” Mei’s expression changed. “Big brother has a hip injury,” she told Arthur.

Arthur’s eyes widened. “How? What happened?”

“This morning, we were supposed to be practicing together… he was supposed to throw me into a jump, but he couldn’t – he collapsed instead. Later, the medic said that it was a hip injury.”

“Where is he now?”

“They took him to the hospital for observation, but they say he’ll be admitted for at most three days. After that, he can go back and rest. If you want, I’m going there later… I can probably…”

Arthur waved a hand. “It’s okay – I have to go back to work anyway. I’ll see him after work. Maybe you could let me know which hospital he’s at?”

“He’s at Brandon Park,” twittered Mei. “Room 419.”

“Okay, got it. Thanks!” Arthur smiled brightly at Mei.

Mei beamed back at Arthur, but shrunk back when she caught her coach scowling at her. “I’d better get back to skating,” she whispered to Arthur.

Arthur chuckled. “You do that.”

* * *

When Arthur reached the hospital, he realised that he hadn’t had time to buy anything for Yao. So, he stopped by the hospital gift shop to get a box of chocolates for Yao. Arthur remembered Yao saying that he had a sweet tooth, so the chocolates should cheer him up.

Arthur went up to the fourth floor to look for Yao’s ward.

What Arthur found when he reached Yao’s room was most astonishing. In Arthur’s eyes, of course. He expected to see Yao in bed, maybe moaning in misery about the pain in his hip. Instead, Yao was walking around his room, changing the channels on the TV and muttering about how they didn’t have any good channels on the hospital network.

“Yao!” gasped Arthur.

Immediately, Yao turned his head to the source of the voice. “Hello Arthur! Nobody told me you would be coming, aru! But how did you know I was here anyway?”

“Nevermind that!” Arthur rushed to Yao’s side. “What are you doing out of bed?! You should be resting!”

“But I don’t feel any pain!” whined Yao.

“That’s probably the effects of the painkillers the doctors gave you!” Arthur pulled Yao to the bed.

“Oh yeah.” Yao looked thoughtful. “I remember I was given some anti-inflammatory medication, aru…”

Arthur tucked Yao into bed. “See?! You’re not completely healed yet!”

Yao rolled his eyes. “Okay, I’ll stay in bed.” Then, he stole a cheeky glance at Arthur. “Even though it is SOOOO boring here, aru…”

Arthur huffed and sat down on the chair by Yao’s bedside. “That’s not going to work on me,” he told Yao bossily. “Anyway, I have something that I think will make you very happy.”

Yao perked up. “What’s that?”

Arthur grinned, and pulled out the box of chocolates he had just purchased.

Yao’s eyes went as big as dinner plates. “Is that… is that for me, aru?”

Arthur nodded and handed the box to Yao.

Yao stared at the box of chocolates in wonderment. “But… but I can’t possibly finish this!”

“Eat them slowly. I’m sure they don’t expire so soon.”

“Why don’t I share them with you, aru?”

Arthur chuckled. Yao was rather generous, in a sense. “If you’re positive,” he replied. “We can open it later, I’m sure.”

Yao nodded happily and moved the box of chocolates to his side-table. Then, he took the TV remote control in his hand and switched the TV off so that he could talk to Arthur.

“What happened with your hip? I heard you had an injury from Mei, but she didn’t have much details.”

Yao leaned back on the bed. “I’m not sure either… but the doctor says it’s a sacroiliac joint injury, a result of overuse of my hip joint from figure skating.”

“Hm, looks like this sport is rather dangerous too…” said Arthur sympathetically.

Yao laughed. “Not really… I mean, there’s always the danger of getting injuries in any sport, aru. I’m just glad that my hip gave out on me, and I didn’t collide into anyone while practicing or accidentally slashed Mei while practicing.”

“What’s the course of action to treat the injury?”

“Well,” Yao began. “The doctor said to get plenty of rest. No ice-skating for two weeks. He’s prescribed me a dose of anti-inflammatory medications, and I have two appointments for physical therapy next week, aru. Fairly simple treatment, I guess, considering the circumstances.”

The Englishman nodded in understanding.

“My coach isn’t too happy, though,” added Yao. “God only knows how much I will have deteriorated on the rink after two weeks, aru…”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine – you’re an awesome skater to begin with,” said Arthur.

Yao smiled at Arthur. “Thanks.”

* * *

A few days later, Yao was out of the hospital and back home. But he was bored out of his mind. He wasn’t allowed to ice-skate, and he had no inclination to go out, so he stayed at home. At first, Yao immersed himself with cooking, but there was only so much that one could eat without puking, so he quickly gave up on that.

The doorbell rang. Being the only occupant of the house, it was Yao’s job to answer it. Lazily, he trudged towards the door.

Yao swung the door open to reveal Arthur, who was smiling from ear to ear. “I have come to kidnap you!” he announced.

“What, aru?”

Arthur laughed nervously. “Er, you must be pretty fed up staying at home all day, so I’ve come to take you out to have some fun,” he said. “Unless… you don’t want to?” Arthur looked hesitantly at Yao.

“Don’t you have to work?”

“I have to clear my leave for the year, so I decided to take today off.”

Yao’s eyes brightened instantly. “Okay!” he yelled. “Just give me a moment to change! Come in and wait, aru!” Yao pulled an unsuspecting Arthur indoors and slammed the door behind him. Then, he ran upstairs to get dressed, leaving Arthur feeling like a typhoon had just hit him.

Shortly after, Yao appeared, dressed a bit more decently. He literally dragged Arthur through the door and out of the house. “Where are we going, aru?”

“I was thinking we could go to the little market on Smith Street to look at some of the trinkets they have on sale there…” said Arthur, contemplatively. “Then we can go to the park – there’s a lake there and we can feed the ducks and fish.”

“That sounds great!” Yao pulled Arthur towards his car.

Arthur smiled. It was as clear as day that Yao was eager to get out of his house.

* * *

Arthur and Yao completed their “outing” with a trip to the park. Before that, Arthur stopped by the bakery to buy some bread to feed the creatures at the lake.

They walked side by side, with Arthur swinging the bag of bread by his side, and made their way to the lake.

“When you’ve fully recovered, do you mind teaching me a little ice-skating?”

Yao let out a chortle. “You want to learn ice-skating?”

“I don’t want to perform like you do,” replied Arthur hastily. “I just want to be able to move on the ice. I just want to appreciate the sport you do,” Arthur explained. He was not looking at Yao, and his cheeks were pink.

“Of course I don’t mind,” replied Yao. “You’re the first person that has ever shown interest in ice-skating – all my other male friends think it’s too girly for a guy to take up the sport. Kinda like ballet, aru.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?!” Arthur looked at Yao, aghast. “The body strength you need to perform those stunts… and to throw another person in the air and catch them… I bet you none of them can do that!”

Yao giggled. “It’s okay – I’m not insulted, aru,” he said. “But thanks.”

They reached a lake, where various ducks were frolicking and swimming about. Yao supposed that there were plenty of fish in the lake as well.

Yao looked at Arthur worriedly. “Are you sure we’re allowed to feed the animals, aru?”

“Of course!” replied Arthur. “I always come here to feed them! It’s still early, so the crowd isn’t here yet… but in the evenings, a lot of children also come to feed the ducks.”

Yao turned his gaze towards the ducks. There was a mother duck calling out to her ducklings, who seemed too engrossed in having fun in the water to pay any attention to her.

“Here,” said Arthur as he handed a piece of bread to Yao. “Just tear off a small piece and drop it into the water.” Arthur demonstrated this by letting a small piece of bread fall into the lake. Immediately, it disappeared from the surface; a fish had eaten it.

“That’s so cute, aru!” Yao cried. His eyes were sparkling with mirth.

Arthur watched as Yao imitated his motions; this time, a duck caught the piece of bread mid-air.

Yao laughed, and threw another piece of bread into the water.

Arthur and Yao continued feeding the wildlife until they were out of bread. By then, some of the children had already arrived, so the animals didn’t have to wait long before they were fed again.

As Arthur and Yao walked away from the lake, Yao gazed at Arthur warmly. “I think it’s very kind of you to come and feed them,” he said, referring to the wildlife at the lake.

Arthur chuckled. “I get pleasure out of it as well, so you can rather say it’s for selfish reasons as well,” he replied cheekily.

Yao smiled gently at Arthur. There was a moment of silence, then…

“I like you, Arthur Kirkland,” Yao said shyly.

Arthur froze for a moment. Yao… liked him? That was a good start, right? “I… I like you too.”

Arthur could feel his heart hammering in his chest. But he decided it was a good kind of hammering. Arthur smiled goofily to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Yao’s hip was deemed fully recovered a week later. He was back in the rink, practicing for his scheduled performances.

Today was also the first time Yao was going to teach Arthur how to ice-skate. Yao was quite nervous, because although he had been skating professionally for a while now, he had never taught anyone how to skate.

Yao watched as his ice-skating friends Mathias and Lukas skated nearby. They were single skaters, and so tended to practice alone. But once a while, they got together to practice. Mathias was trying to flirt with Lukas, who was determinedly ignoring him. Lukas had his arms akimbo and was concentrating, recalling the steps to one of his routines. Mathias sneaked his arms around Lukas’ chest and lifted the blonde, causing the latter to let out an indignant squawk.

“Give Mathias a break, will you, Lukas?” Yao spoke out from his position at the side. “He’s been trying to get your attention all evening, aru!”

Lukas turned a bright shade of red. “If he left me alone for a while, maybe I’d pay him some attention when he deserves some!” He glared fiercely at Mathias.

“Hey, hey!” shouted Mathias suddenly; a thought had abruptly come to his head. “How’s it going with you and that fan of yours, Yao?”

“Fan?!” Yao choked on his own saliva.

“Yeah! He’s been here quite often to see you!”

Yao bristled. “I think he hardly qualifies as a ‘fan’,” he muttered.

“Ooh, is there something you’re not telling us?” teased Mathias.

“No,” Yao sounded annoyed. “Arthur’s just a friend, aru.”

“His name’s Arthur?” Lukas piped in.

“Yes.”

“Oh, oh! Like the English king – King Arthur!” exclaimed Mathias. “Is he rich?”

“Rich?” Yao frowned. Come to think of it, he never did ask Arthur about his finances. It never came up. Or perhaps, it just wasn’t important. “I don’t know. And I don’t care.”

“Ooh.” Mathias wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

Lukas smacked Mathias over the head. “Don’t be vulgar,” he told Mathias. “My apologies on Mathias’ behalf,” Lukas said to Yao.

“This may sound really bad, but I’m used to it, aru.”

“So… are you waiting for him? You don’t usually hang around the rink this long after you’ve finished your practice session.”

Yao blanched. “Is it that obvious?”

“Kinda,” Mathias said cheerfully.

Yao looked at his feet. “Well, he said he wanted to learn how to skate, so he asked me to teach him.”

Mathias let out a bark of laughter. “He obviously wants to spend more time with you!”

Lukas nodded. “I agree with Mathias on this.”

“You guys really think so, aru?”

“Well,” Lukas ticked the items off with his fingers. “First, he approaches you and compliments you on your performance. Second, he takes you out to tea. Third, he comes over to your house for dinner. Fourth, he takes care of you and entertains you when you had that hip injury. And now, he suddenly wants to learn ice-skating?” Lukas grinned at Yao. It was a rare occasion that the Norwegian man smiled, much less grinned. “This man is smitten over you, Yao!”

Mathias nodded excitedly. “He’s in LOOOVE with you!” he wolf-whistled.

 “We’re just friends,” Yao said instead. He didn’t want to keep his hopes up in case Mathias and Lukas were wrong, and Arthur just wanted to be friends with Yao. But Yao also couldn’t help hoping desperately that they were right.


	6. Chapter 6

Arthur was skating in the side of the rink by himself while he watched Yao practice his twists and turns on the ice. Thanks to Yao’s coaching, he could now move on the ice by himself. It was actually quite easy, but Arthur didn’t dare perform any of the stunts Yao was able to do on ice. He was content to just be able to move.

Yao stole a look at Arthur and caught him staring. He smiled at Arthur; the Englishman felt his heart skip a beat.

Yao skated over to Arthur and playfully took his hand. “Come on, aru,” he said to Arthur. “Let’s go to a quieter area and skate there.”

“Together?”

Yao raised an eyebrow. “Then?”

Arthur chuckled. “Okay.” He allowed Yao to pull him towards the opposite end of the rink.

Yao circled around Arthur a few times, laughing to himself as he skated.

Arthur could no longer take it anymore. He grabbed Yao by his shoulders, earning a squeak from the Asian man. Then, Arthur drew closer to Yao and clamped his lips over Yao’s own.

Needless to say, Yao was shocked into silence. But he wasn’t displeased by the gesture. On the contrary, Arthur’s lips felt soft and nice, and Yao felt himself wanting to kiss Arthur again.

On the other hand, Arthur was appalled at himself for acting on such an impulse. When he pulled away, he immediately covered his mouth with his hands and stared at Yao as if he’d grown an extra head. “Oh my god… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I don’t know what came over me…”

Yao shook his head. He wanted to tell Arthur that it was okay and kissing him felt nice, but Yao couldn’t find the words to articulate them.

When Yao didn’t say anything, Arthur took it as a form of rejection. His face fell and he drifted a little further away from Yao. “Let’s just forget that this ever happened, okay?”

Yao looked at Arthur. “But… but what if I don’t want to forget it, aru?” he asked in a small voice.

Arthur gawked at Yao. “What?”

Yao cleared his throat. “What if… what if I don’t want to forget that you kissed me?”

“Yao… what are you saying?”

“Well,” Yao shifted nervously. But he determinedly locked his eyes onto Arthur’s. “I really like you, Arthur. I wouldn’t mind being together… in the romantic sense… as a couple. And earlier on, when you kissed me… I don’t know. It felt… right, aru. And I maybe… want to do it again.”

Arthur’s face split into a wide grin. “Really?”

The Asian man smiled at Arthur. He nodded. “Yes.”

Arthur began skating closer to Yao so that he could kiss him again, but he slipped on the ice and landed on his butt.

“Oh!” Yao hurried to Arthur’s side. He knelt down to help Arthur up. “You are so clumsy, aru,” he chided.

“I’ve only just learnt to ice-skate!” retorted Arthur. “You can’t blame me for being a klutz!”

Yao smiled affectionately at Arthur. “You can kiss me again when we’re on dry land and you’re more steady on your feet,” he told Arthur with a wink.

Arthur got to his feet and brushed his clothes down. “I’ll hold you to your word,” he said. He then wrapped his left arm around Yao’s waist. “So… what does this mean for us? Are we a couple now?”

“Do you want that, aru?”

“More than anything in my life,” Arthur gushed. “You change the world around me. You are the ray of light when everything is dull and grey and ugly. You fill my life when it is empty. You take away everything awful inside me and make it better. I think… I think you make me a better person.”

Yao was stunned by Arthur confession. For a moment, Yao could not move. He was frozen in place, held captivated by Arthur’s green blazing eyes and earth-shattering words. Had Arthur’s eyes always been THAT green? Yao felt himself drowning in the depth of Arthur’s eyes.

When Yao finally found his voice, he opened his mouth to speak. “Then, I guess we are together… a couple now,” confirmed Yao with a gentle smile.

Arthur made a happy sound and spun them around on the ice. “I like that, you know.”

“What?”

“When you smile.”

Yao’s smile got wider as he watched Arthur’s delighted demeanour. If Arthur liked his smile so much, he would damn well smile his ass off for Arthur.

* * *

When Yao got home that day, it was with Arthur. He wanted his siblings to be the first to know that Arthur and he were officially an item. And perhaps he also wanted their blessing. But that was a secondary issue. Yao just didn’t want them to hear rumours and find out from someone else. When Yao told Arthur that, Arthur had offered to announce the news together with Yao.

It was 8.30pm when Arthur and Yao reached Yao’s house, and Yao’s siblings would have had their dinner by then. So, Yao thought that they would be comfortable and more amenable towards the fact that Arthur and Yao were now dating.

Kiku, Yong Soo and Hong Kong were in the living room, playing a video game. Well, Yong Soo and Hong Kong were actively playing; Kiku was watching the screen and cheering for whoever was winning.

“Hey guys,” greeted Yao. “Where’s Mei?”

Hong Kong paused the game so that he and Yong Soo could greet their oldest brother.

“She’s out studying with some friends, I think,” Yong Soo replied. “Or was it a study date?”

Kiku glanced at Yao’s eyes as it flashed in anger when he heard the word “date”. “No, I’m sure she mentioned that she was going to study with some friends,” Kiku said. “What’s up?” he asked Yao.

“Well, uh,” Yao exchanged a look with the Englishman. “I have some news for you guys, aru.”

All of Yao’s brothers looked expectantly at him.

“Uh.”

There was a pregnant pause as Yao gathered the guts to tell his brothers that he and Arthur were officially together.

“Well?” Hong Kong was the first to speak.

At that point in time, Arthur took Yao’s hand in his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

“WEAREDATINGNOW!” Yao blurted out.

Silence filled the living room as Yao’s brothers digested what Yao had just told them.

Finally, Hong Kong spoke up. “That’s it?”

“It’s about time, da-ze!” yelled Yong Soo.

“Congratulations,” twittered Kiku.

Yao blinked. He hadn’t expected his brothers to be so accepting of the news. What more, he was dating a man! “You’re okay with it, aru?”

“Of course!” chirped Yong Soo. “Frankly, we were getting kinda sick of you and him dancing around each other. For the love of god, just get together already!”

Yao and Arthur blushed simultaneously.

“You could tell that I was courting Yao?”

Hong Kong rolled his eyes. “It was like, so obvious. But big brother had confided in me that he liked you too, so I thought it was just a matter of time.”

“Hong Kong!” Yao hissed. “He’s not supposed to know that!”

“Aw,” Arthur turned towards Yao. “You liked me enough to confide in your brother?”

“Well, he asked… because he noticed I was acting very happy for some reason, aru…”

Arthur grinned and leaned forward to kiss Yao on the forehead. “At least now I know that I didn’t screw up while trying to woo you.”

Yao looked at Arthur shyly. “You couldn’t have – you’re a very charming person. I’m sure anyone would have fallen for you, aru.”

“If you guys are going to get all lovey-dovey, may I suggest you get a room?” called Hong Kong.

Arthur and Yao broke apart immediately.

“Arthur has to go anyway,” Yao said quickly. “He has to work tomorrow.”

“Yeah – I’ve got an early meeting, so I can’t be late for that,” Arthur told Hong Kong. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” This was directed at Yao.

“Okay,” replied Yao with a smile. He showed Arthur out of the door. “Good night.”

Arthur ran his hand over Yao’s hair. “Good night,” he said. “How do you say ‘kiss me’ in Chinese?”

“Huh?” Yao was taken aback by Arthur’s question.

“How do you say ‘kiss me’ in Chinese?” repeated Arthur with a mischievous grin.

“Er, it’s ‘吻我’ ,” replied Yao.

“Wěn wǒ,” Arthur tried. The words were foreign on his tongue, and he sounded funny. “Wěn wǒ,” Arthur said again.

The Asian man giggled at Arthur’s attempt to speak in Mandarin. He thought it was cute. “好吧，我会吻你。” Then, Yao pressed his lips softly against Arthur’s.

“What did you say?”

“I said, ‘Alright, I’ll kiss you’.”

Arthur smiled, and kissed Yao on the mouth one last time before leaving.

When Yao shut the door behind him, he was smiling stupidly to himself. He leaned his back against the door and let out a contented sigh.

“I’m glad you’re happy,” said Kiku, who had given up watching Yong Soo and Hong Kong play their video game. He was leaning against the doorway and munching on his crisps as he observed his older brother.

“Kiku!” cried Yao. His younger brother had startled him with his presence. “How long have you been standing there, aru?!”

Kiku leered suggestively at Yao. “Long enough,” he replied. Then he turned serious. “I know I don’t say this enough, but I love you, and I just want you to be happy. If Arthur’s the one who can make you smile like that, then I’m all for your relationship.”

Yao’s lower lip trembled. He ran towards his brother and hugged him. “Thank you, Kiku,” he whispered.  “It means a lot to me that I have your support.”

Kiku stroked Yao’s back softly. It seemed that their roles were reversed this time. Kiku blushed; he was not used to this. “You know I would,” he murmured. “As long as you are happy.”

* * *

Arthur felt like skipping all the way home. But of course, he didn’t. For one, he would look silly. For another, he had a car, and he couldn’t just leave it at Yao’s place.

Arthur’s first instinct when he got home was to give Bella a call and tell her the wonderful news. After all, it was thanks to her that Arthur had seen Yao at the ice-skating performance, so Arthur thought she deserved to be the first of his friends to know.

“Hello?”

“Bella, I did it!!” bellowed Arthur into the phone. “Yao is now mine!” He knew he sounded selfish and greedy, but he couldn’t help it. Especially when the beautiful and ethereal Asian man was involved.

“Wha-? Arthur?”

“Yes!” said Arthur impatiently. He wanted to hear Bella’s response.

There was an excited squeal from the other end of the line, and Arthur had to hold the phone a distance from his ear to prevent hearing loss. “You asked him?! How did you do it?!”

“There wasn’t much asking as there was kissing,” admitted Arthur.

“EEEEEEE!!! You kissed him?!” shrieked Bella. “Oh my god, you must tell me everything the next time I see you!”

Arthur nodded, even though he knew Bella couldn’t see him. Bella had met Yao once, and she liked him instantly. She gave Arthur a thumbs-up sign when Yao wasn’t looking. “I must thank you for taking me to that ice-skating performance.”

“Now you admit that ice-skating is not stupid?”

“Yeah… In fact, Yao has been teaching me how to ice-skate. Well,” Arthur laughed nervously. “Enough to move on the ice, anyway.”

“I’m so happy for you, Arthur,” Bella told Arthur. “You deserve this happiness in your life.”

Arthur smiled. He didn’t quite agree with Bella – he thought he was not a very good person to begin with, but was in far too much bliss to argue with her.


	7. Chapter 7

Yao was skating in circles on the rink. He didn’t have any practice that day, but often went to the rink to skate anyway, because he could think while skating.

Yao looked at his watch. It was 5.45pm. Arthur said he’d be at the ice-skating rink to pick Yao up at 6pm. Yao still had 15 minutes to skate aimlessly around.

“Bye, Yao!” Mathias waved at Yao and exited the rink. “See you tomorrow!”

Yao waved back. He watched as Mathias disappeared to the locker room to keep his skates before leaving.

Yao looked around. People were already leaving, and the rink was rather empty now. Now, Yao had space to execute some stunts he didn’t dare perform with so many people in the rink. Usually, when Yao had to practice, his coach would have booked half the rink so that he had space to move around. Alternatively, when Yao practiced with Mei and needed the whole rink, they would practice when the rink was not open to the public.

Yao launched himself into a series of consecutive double Lutz jumps, just for the fun of it.

When Yao landed after completing the last Lutz jump, clapping could be heard. Yao whipped his head around to meet the source of the clapping, and came face to face with a tall blonde man with long hair that reached to his chin and a stubby beard.

“You skate very well, _une beau_ ,” complimented the man. He himself had on skates, but seemed to be ice-skating around casually.

“Er, thanks,” Yao replied. “I skate for performances and competitions, aru,” he explained.

“I know that.”

Yao was taken aback by the man’s response. “How do you know…? Do you watch the shows very often?”

The man chuckled to himself. “How rude of me!” he exclaimed. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Francis. I work with Arthur.” Francis held out his hand.

“Oh.” Yao shook Francis’ hand.

“Arthur has mentioned that he met a beautiful ice-skater who he thinks is destined to be his partner and being the curious caper I am, I had to check him out.”

Yao blushed. “I’m sure he’s just exaggerating, aru…”

“No, he’s not,” said Francis. He scooted closer to Yao, backing him up against the glass railing surrounding the ice-skating rink. Francis leaned forward so that his mouth was inches away from Yao’s ear. “You are gorgeous.”

Uncomfortable with Francis’ proximity, Yao pushed at Francis’ chest. But Francis did not budge. “Please… please keep your distance…”

“Why?” murmured Francis sultrily into Yao’s ear. “Arthur is not here. We can go and do something together.”

“No thanks, aru…” Yao was now trying to keep Francis’ roaming hands away from him. “I’m… uh, I’m actually expecting Arthur any minute now…”

“Oh! Excellent!” Francis reached behind and grabbed Yao’s butt.

Horrified, Yao slapped Francis’ hand away. “Could you please keep your hands to yourself?!”

“But you’re so pretty, how can I possibly do that?” said Francis, stroking Yao’s left cheek.

“Bonnefoy!” boomed a voice that was unmistakably Arthur’s.

Francis whipped around. Arthur was standing at the entrance of the ice-skating rink. He looked livid.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

“Relax, _mon ami_ ,” Francis told Arthur as he waved a hand. “I was just teasing Yao here. I just came to check out the man who had managed to capture our Arthur’s heart.” Francis took his hands away from the railing, where they were imprisoning Yao. Yao, on the other hand, immediately moved away from Francis.

“Well, now that you’ve “checked him out”, you can leave now.”

“Actually, I am meeting a date here, if you don’t mind,” said Francis.

“Then we’re leaving,” Arthur said coldly. He reached forward to take Yao’s hand and pulled him out of the rink.

Wordlessly, Yao allowed himself to be led out of the rink. Arthur brought him to the locker room, where he could change out of his skates.

Yao moved around in silence. Arthur seemed to be very angry, and Yao didn’t dare speak unless he had permission.

When Yao was done, he tugged lightly on Arthur’s hand. He tilted his head, indicating that he was ready and that they could leave.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Arthur grabbed Yao’s hand and yanked him so that he was facing Arthur. He then ran his hands over Yao’s body. “Are you okay?” Arthur asked Yao in concern. “Francis didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

“I… I’m fine, aru. He just groped me, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle…” Yao looked into Arthur’s eyes. “But nevermind me, are YOU okay? You looked really mad just now.”

Arthur averted his eyes from Yao. “It’s nothing. I’m just mad at myself for not keeping my mouth shut and allowing this to happen to you,” he said. “Francis IS a pervert, and his advances usually don’t mean anything… but sometimes he can go overboard.”

Yao brought his hand towards Arthur’s face and placed it on his right cheek. He gently pushed Arthur’s face so that he was looking at Yao. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault, aru. I can take care of myself.”

Arthur stared at Yao.

Yao giggled softly. “If it makes you feel any better… if you hadn’t turned up and he had continued harassing me, I would have kicked him in the balls.”

Arthur let out a guffaw. “That’s my Yao!”

Yao grinned smugly. “I’m a man too – I know where it hurts most in men, aru!”

“That’s what I love about you.” Arthur wrapped a hand around Yao’s waist and drew the Asian man closer to him. He kissed Yao lightly on the head.

“What? That I can kick guys in the balls?”

Arthur laughed. “Well, yes,” he said. “But I guess it’s the fact that you can defend yourself. And the fact that you have such a good sense of humour too helps a lot.”

“You flatter me.”

“Okay, let’s get out of here. Should we pick Hong Kong up from uni or from home?” asked Arthur. Hong Kong had no plans for dinner, and was going to have dinner alone. Until Arthur invited him to join them for dinner. Initially, Hong Kong had rejected the idea – he didn’t want to be a third wheel on their date. But Yao had told him that this wasn’t going to be a date, so if Hong Kong was going to be alone, he might as well join them.

Yao looked thoughtful. “He told me he was going to be in the library completing an assignment, so I think uni. But I better give him a call to confirm, aru.”

“You do that. Meanwhile, I’ll bring my car around. Just wait at the porch.”

“Okay.”

* * *

Arthur was in a bad mood, Yao could tell. When Yao had rung he doorbell, Arthur had answered the door without a word, but only with a small smile. He had ruffled Yao’s hair affectionately and kissed him on the forehead, but didn’t say anything. After that, Arthur plopped himself down on the sofa, clutching his mug of tea and staring at the television, even though it wasn’t switched on.

Yao tidied up the mess Arthur had made in the kitchen. When he came out, Arthur was still in the same position, but he had placed his mug of tea on the coffee table and now had his hands clenched on his lap.

Yao sighed silently. It was very depressing when Arthur was in this sort of mood. And as Arthur’s boyfriend, it was his duty to make Arthur feel better.

Yao quietly approached Arthur. He wrapped his arms around Arthur’s chest from his back. Yao rested his chin on Arthur’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, aru?” he asked softly.

Arthur was shaken out of his trance. “It’s nothing,” he replied distantly.

“Come on,” Yao prompted. “You know you can tell me. I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“It’s nothing,” Arthur repeated. “Francis just said something…”

“What did he say?” Yao nuzzled the side of Arthur’s face.

There was a moment of silence. Yao wondered if Arthur had heard him. Nevertheless, he remained still and waited for the Englishman to respond.

Arthur finally let out a puff of air. “He said that you didn’t really like me for me… he said you were with me only because of my money,” he said quietly.

Yao rolled his eyes. Trust Arthur to be so unsure of himself. “For your information, I didn’t know how rich you were when we started dating, aru. I never thought to ask, because it wasn’t important to me. What matters is that we love one another,” Yao told Arthur. “I love you for who you are, not how much money you have, aru,” whispered Yao tenderly into Arthur’s ear.

Arthur’s eyes widened. It was the first time Yao had told him that he loved him. With all his might, Arthur grabbed Yao’s arms that were around his chest and yanked them forward so that Yao’s entire body was pulled onto the couch.

Yao let out a startled cry as he felt his body lurch forward into a somersault over the back of the sofa, and he landed on his back on the couch.

Arthur was hovering over Yao, looking intently at Yao as Yao struggled to get his bearings. “You… you love me?” Arthur asked breathlessly.

Yao blushed visibly. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

Arthur smiled like an idiot and lowered his head to kiss Yao on the lips. “I love you too.”

Yao reached out to stroke Arthur’s cheek tenderly. “Feeling better now, aru?”

Arthur nodded and turned his face to kiss the palm of Yao’s hand. “Thanks.”

“Don’t listen to Francis,” Yao told Arthur. “He just wants to annoy you.”

Arthur chuckled. “You’d think I know to do that after knowing Francis for so long, but his words just got to me, you know?”

The Chinese man smiled in understanding. He felt guilty that he hadn’t assured Arthur of his love for him even after dating him for so long, thus making Arthur doubt him. It was just the way Yao was brought up didn’t allow him to show much affection. But now that Yao had confessed his love for Arthur, it didn’t seem so hard saying it another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With regards to Yao being unable to show affection due to the way he was brought up, it’s a Chinese thing. I’m Chinese, myself, and I have observed that we aren’t very open with our feelings. I think it’s a cultural thing – Chinese people value logic and practicality, and their culture believes that allowing one's emotions to show openly inhibits logical thinking and therefore, honour and strength of character.


	8. Chapter 8

Yao and Mei were competing in the National Ice-skating Championships.

Arthur had been watching Yao and Mei perform from backstage. They were very good. Except for one instance when, out of a stroke of bad luck, Yao tripped and stumbled on the ice. It was hardly noticeable, but Arthur didn’t think that it would escape the judges.

When Yao and Mei were in the kiss and cry area of the rink with their coach, waiting for their marks to be announced, Arthur peeked out to catch a glimpse of Yao. Yao’s expression was unreadable; Arthur presumed he would know how Yao truly felt when he talked to him later. Mei, on the other hand, was cheerfully and warmly waving to her fans.

Their marks were finally announced: they scored an overall of 131.32. It looked like Yao wasn’t penalised too heavily for his stumble during the performance. They were currently in second place, which didn’t seem too bad, in Arthur’s point of view.

Yao and Mei left the kiss and cry area as soon as they received their marks.

Arthur immediately got up to greet them. He was about to embrace Yao, but one look at Yao’s face made him hold back. “It was an excellent performance,” he told Yao.

Yao managed a smile, but didn’t say anything. He silently made his way over to his locker to collect his clothes. Then he went to the changing rooms to change out of his costume.

Worried, Arthur turned towards Mei. “Is he okay?”

Mei laughed uneasily. “Yeah, he’ll be alright. He always gets like this after a competition, and he felt he had screwed up.”

“But it wasn’t even that bad!”

“Just give him a while to cool himself down. He’ll be alright.” Mei assured Arthur.

There were two more routines after Yao and Mei, but they weren’t half as good as them, so Yao and Mei retained their second place spot. Their coach was satisfied with the result, and offered them a hearty congratulatory wish. But Yao remained stoic throughout the victory ceremony.

After the competition had officially ended, Yao excused himself. He told Mei he’d make his way home by himself and left immediately, leaving Arthur feeling very confused.

“It’s okay – he just needs to compose himself,” Mei told Arthur. “He’ll be back soon enough. Would you like to wait for him at home?”

“Huh? Okay then…” Arthur gazed forlornly at the doorway where Yao had just disappeared. “I’ll drive you home – I brought my car.”

“Okay! Thanks!”

So Arthur drove Mei home. He parked his car opposite Yao’s house and got down to wait for him in his house.

When Arthur entered Yao’s house, Hong Kong was studying on the ground in the living room. He was lying on his stomach with books and papers littered all over the floor. “Oh, you’re done? How was it?” he asked when Mei walked through the door.

“Second place,” Mei said, as if those words explained everything.

But Yao and Mei competed in enough competitions for Hong Kong to be able to decipher what Mei meant when she offered that vague description. “So like, where’s brother Yao?”

Mei waved a hand. “He went to cool off. He screwed up a bit during our routine, so he’s off wallowing in self-pity.”

“If you guys still managed to get second place, then it can’t have been that bad, right?”

“It wasn’t. But you know big brother…”

Hong Kong turned towards Arthur. “I guess you’re here to wait for big brother?” he asked.

Arthur shrugged. “I think so.”

Mei told the two males that she was going to her room to rest.

Hong Kong nodded. Then, he looked at Arthur. “Would you like some tea while you wait?”

“That would be nice.”

Hong Kong got up from where he lay on the ground and dusted his shirt down. “Come on,” he said as he led Arthur to the kitchen. “I could use a break myself.”

Hong Kong handed the Englishman a small porcelain Chinese tea cup and asked him what sort of tea he would like. “I’m sorry, but we don’t really like, have any Western-type teas around… We have Pu-erh, Oolong, jasmine green tea and Kuk Po.”

“What’s the last one?”

“Kuk Po,” repeated Hong Kong. “It’s basically a combination of Pu-erh tea with chrysanthemum flowers. It’s brother Yao’s favourite too.”

“Um, okay… I’ll try that one.”

“I’ll brew us a pot, have a seat first,” said Hong Kong as he gestured towards the small table in the kitchen. He took out a tea pot from the cupboard, added some tea leaves into it, and poured hot water into the tea pot. Hong Kong then carried the tea pot to the table. “Brother Yao likes to brew his tea for at least five minutes – he says that way, the tea has a darker colour and more concentrated flavour. But personally, I think a minute is enough,” Hong Kong explained.

“You just don’t like waiting,” joked Arthur, grinning knowingly at Hong Kong.

“Well, that too,” admitted Hong Kong with a mischievous smile.

Arthur spent the rest of the afternoon conversing with Hong Kong. They even managed to refill their pot of tea three times before the sound of the door unlocking and opening could be heard. “Looks like big brother is home,” said Hong Kong.

“I should go and…”

“Yeah, you should,” Hong Kong interrupted Arthur. “Leave the washing up to me – I’ll do it. And then, I should get back to studying too,”

“Okay, thanks,” said Arthur.

When Arthur stepped out of the kitchen, Yao was just locking the front door. “Hey,” Arthur greeted.

Yao’s head whipped around to face Arthur. “Oh, you’re here, aru? Didn’t you go home?” he asked quietly.

Arthur shook his head and moved closer to Yao. “No. I was worried about you.”

Yao managed a small smile. “It’s alright. I’m alright,” he told Arthur. Yao then turned towards the stairs and made his way upstairs.

Yao didn’t say anything else, so Arthur followed him silently.

Yao entered his room and dropped his bag on the ground. Arthur entered shortly after and shut the door behind him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Yao slumped down on the edge of his bed. “I’m alright,” he repeated. “I’m just disappointed with myself.”

Arthur sat down beside Yao and put an arm over his shoulder. “Why?”

Yao shrugged. “After skating for so long, I make such a simple mistake? Mei and I could have gotten first place!” he wailed. “I’m useless, aru!”

“No… it was just a little bad luck – things like that happen,” Arthur told Yao, tightening his arm around Yao’s shoulder. “You’re usually really good. Don’t let a little mistake like that get you down.”

Yao didn’t say anything.

Arthur lowered his voice. “How about I show you how you’re not useless?” he said sultrily into Yao’s ear.

Yao quickly looked up. “What?”

Arthur crept onto the bed. He placed himself behind Yao.

“Arthur, what are you doing-?”

“Shhh, don’t speak,” whispered Arthur as he lowered his lips onto the back of Yao’s neck. Arthur’s right hand sneaked into the lower hem of Yao’s shirt. He ran his hand over the bare skin of Yao’s stomach, and then his chest. Yao gasped when Arthur brushed against his nipple.

Arthur smirked to himself. It looked like Yao was beginning to get quite hot and bothered, and if Arthur continued his ministrations, Yao was sure to lose control. But of course, Arthur didn’t want to do anything that would make Yao uncomfortable, so he might have to settle for just petting for now.

Arthur’s right hand reappeared from Yao’s collar. He was thankful that Yao was wearing a T-shirt that allowed itself to be stretched like that. “I get so turned on when I see you skating – you’re so magnificent, so graceful…” Arthur murmured. “Sometimes I just want to ravish you on the ice.”

“I… I…” Yao was breathing very hard.

Arthur’s hand went up towards Yao’s face. He then covered Yao’s eyes with his right hand.

Surprised at the sudden darkness, Yao reached for Arthur’s hand, but Arthur caught his left arm with his free hand. “Don’t move,” Arthur told Yao. “Let me pleasure you.”

Yao gulped. “Okay, aru,” he whispered.

Arthur had his chin rested on Yao’s shoulder and felt Yao swallow. “Just relax.”

Yao leaned into Arthur’s touch. He trusted Arthur with his heart and soul, so Yao didn’t see any harm in letting Arthur progress further.

Arthur pushed Yao’s head back so that his throat was fully exposed to him. Arthur leaned forward and kissed Yao’s neck. It was at first gentle, but his kisses slowly turned desperate; it was as if Arthur was afraid that Yao would disappear any second.

Yao let out a strangled sound when Arthur bit down particularly hard on his neck. That was sure to leave a mark.

Arthur released Yao’s hand, and it found its way to caress Arthur’s hair. Yao sighed as he ran his fingers through Arthur’s hair.

Arthur tilted Yao’s head further back. Now, Yao had his weight totally supported by Arthur’s body. Not that Arthur was complaining – Yao was surprisingly light. For a split second, Arthur wondered how Yao was able to carry, throw and catch Mei during their ice-skating performances with such a light physique.

Arthur pulled Yao into a long, loving kiss. His tongue probed Yao’s mouth for entrance, and Yao complied. As Yao parted his lips, Arthur’s tongue slipped through his lips, and their tongues twirled around one another. Yao was still a bit hesitant with physical intimacy, so he allowed Arthur to take the lead and become the dominant one.

Yao’s hand travelled down to touch Arthur’s cheek. He couldn’t see, but he had the contours of Arthur’s face memorised from staring at him so much.

Unconsciously, Arthur’s other hand slipped into Yao’s shirt. He took one of Yao’s nipples and rolled it between his fingers.

Yao let out an involuntary gasp.

Arthur dislodged from Yao’s mouth, leaving him breathless and panting for more. His tongue then trailed wet kisses to the hollow of Yao’s eat and down the length of his neck.

Yao could feel his brain literally shut down. He moaned loudly at that point.

 _You’re mine_ , thought Arthur, conveying it through his actions. _Mine, and mine only._ Arthur drowned himself in the delightful sounds Yao was making. He revelled in the fact that he was the only one who had heard these noises that were escaping Yao’s mouth.

Arthur’s hands travelled south and ghosted over Yao’s groin area.

Even though Arthur’s ministrations were feather-light, Yao could feel them so very well. His hips bucked up to meet Arthur’s touch.

Arthur resumed attacking Yao’s mouth. He bit and nibbled at Yao’s lower lip.

Yao’s hand moved to the back of Arthur’s head and pushed him forward, even closer to his face. He wanted more, more of what Arthur was doing. “Hnngh!”

“Yes…” Arthur was memorising, commemorating and embedding every single one of Yao’s reactions (a moan from this, a gasp and a squirm from that) to his mind, adding to his memories with Yao. Arthur would make sure to perform those actions in the future to cause Yao to react so delightfully.

Yao eventually found himself on his back. Arthur was on top of him and had removed his hand from Yao’s eyes. Yao squinted as light flooded his vision and he caught his breath, recovering from that intense make-out session. Yao looked upwards and saw Arthur staring back at him lovingly.

“You aren’t useless,” Arthur said to Yao. “It was just a mistake. It was just a little bad luck. Don’t think about it anymore, okay?”

Yao swallowed. How could he argue with Arthur after such activities and when he was looking at Yao with such a tender expression? Finally, Yao allowed a smile to grace his face. He reached up to touch Arthur’s cheek. “Okay, aru.”

Arthur smiled. He bent down and kissed Yao on the lips. “I love you,” he murmured. “You’re perfect.”

While Arthur’s face was so close to Yao’s, Yao took this opportunity to kiss Arthur all over his face – his lips, his cheek, his nose, his eyelids… “I love you too,” Yao replied. “You taste like my favourite tea.”

Arthur grinned. “I’ve been drinking your favourite tea with Hong Kong. Want to taste more of it?”

Yao laughed and pulled Arthur down for another kiss.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – With regards to how Yao was so upset over his mistake in the ice-skating competition, it’s a general… custom, you could say, for Asians to be perfectionist in whatever they do. I remember one joke I heard somewhere that to an Asian parent, you could only get A+ or A in an exam. The other grades were considered a failure in the Asian parent’s eyes. I really LOL-ed at that joke, because it was so true – I was terrified of telling my parents my grades if it was anything less than an 80%.


	9. Chapter 9

Arthur glanced uneasily at the cutlery on the table. He was out with Yao, and they were at a Chinese restaurant. Yao said that the dim sum there was fantastic, and he wanted Arthur to try it.

The only problem was that the restaurant was very traditional, and had no Western utensils such as spoons, forks or knives.

And Arthur had no idea how to use chopsticks. He supposed that he could stab his food with the chopstick, like how he usually did with a fork… But then, how would he stab his vegetables? Actually, Arthur didn’t really like vegetables… but he still had to get at least some fibre into his body, right?

Yao noticed Arthur’s dilemma, and hid a grin with his hand. “Sorry,” he said to Arthur. “I forgot that this restaurant doesn’t use Western spoons and forks…”

“That’s okay-“

“I’ll feed you, aru!” said Yao cheerfully.

“Eh?”

“Just tell me what you want, and I’ll get it for you!”

“I… uh, I don’t really know what’s good here…” said Arthur unsurely. “Why don’t you pick for me?”

“Okay, aru!” chirped Yao excitedly. He carefully picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks and placed it on his spoon. Then, he gave the spoon to Arthur. “Be very careful with this one,” he told Arthur. “There’s soup inside the dumpling skin. It is called a soup dumpling, or _xiaolongbao_. So you should bite the skin and suck out the soup first, then eat the dumpling. Dip it in vinegar – it tastes better that way.”

Arthur did as he was told. “Mm!!” he exclaimed after he had swallowed the dumpling. “It’s very good! How do they get the soup in the dumpling?”

“When they make the dumpling, before they wrap the skin around it, they wrap a gelatinous layer around the meat, which melts into soup when the dumpling is steamed.”

“That’s amazing!” commented Arthur. “Whoever thought of making dumplings that way?!”

Yao shrugged. He was secretly pleased that Arthur liked the food he had chosen so much. “I don’t know, but they originated in Nanxiang, which is a town in Shanghai, aru. I think they are a gastronomic miracle as well.”

Arthur usually didn’t eat outside his palate – he typically dined with whatever food that he was comfortable with. This usually didn’t consist of what he considered exotic food, like Chinese food. But seeing Yao’s eyes light up in delight as they ate together made Arthur actually consider eating Chinese food everyday for the rest of his life.

* * *

Arthur had taken Yao to a pub. Yao rarely went to such establishments, and never went there alone – it was usually with boisterous friends who wanted to drink and made too much noise. So Arthur decided to let Yao experience an intimate setting at a pub, with just the two of them.

As Yao stepped into the pub after Arthur, he looked apprehensively around. “I don’t know, Arthur…”

Arthur turned around and took Yao’s hand. He rubbed his thumb against the back of Yao’s hand comfortingly. “It’s okay – I’m with you,” he murmured. “Pubs aren’t as bad as you make them out to be. Besides, The King’s Head is the nicest, quietest pub I know – it’s not very popular, so the rowdy crowd doesn’t come here.”

“But…”

“We can have something to eat here as well. Are you hungry?”

“Quite, aru.”

“Okay, it’s settled then – I’ll order us some pizza and a couple of drinks.”

Arthur led Yao to a table at the corner of the pub. After he had settled Yao comfortably down, Arthur asked Yao what drink he would like.

“Um… a rum and coke please.”

“Alright, will be back shortly.”

Arthur made his way to the counter where he ordered their drinks and a medium pizza. The drinks and pizza were ready momentarily; Arthur paid for them and brought them over to their table.

“Oh!” Yao sat up when Arthur returned. “That was fast, aru!”

Arthur smirked and took his seat opposite Yao. “Told you it was a nice pub – service here is excellent!”

Yao laughed heartily. “You’re right,” he said. “I… I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge pubs based on my own encounters.”

“By the end of tonight, you’ll see that it can be a relaxing experience,” Arthur told Yao with a wink.

They ate their pizza in comfortable silence. When they were done, a slow song started playing on the radio.

“Did I tell you that the music choice here is fantastic as well?” Arthur looked towards the counter and nodded his head at the bartender. The bartender seemed to get Arthur’s message, and turned the volume slightly up.

Arthur then turned to Yao and held his hand out. “May I have this dance?”

“What?” Yao immediately turned pink.

“Let’s dance,” said Arthur. “It’s a nice song to dance to.”

“I… uh…” Nevertheless, Yao placed his hand in Arthur’s and allowed himself to be led out of their booth.

As Yao wrapped his arms around Arthur’s neck and Arthur encircled his around the Chinese man’s tiny waist, Yao was trembling.

“Why are you shaking?” inquired Arthur.

“I can’t dance!” whispered Yao. “I mean, I’ve tried… but I suck, aru!”

“Hm,” Arthur said thoughtfully. His lips curled into a smile. “Can perform at ice-skating shows but can’t dance.” Arthur bit his lower lip. “Interesting.”

“Don’t tease me about it!”

Arthur chuckled. “I’m not,” he said with a mild smirk. “Just follow my lead.”

So Arthur led and Yao followed. They danced throughout the whole song. Occasionally, Yao stumbled, but Arthur always guided him back. In a way, they completed one another.

At one point, Arthur leaned forward and started humming the melody into Yao’s ear.

Yao felt a pleasurable shiver run down his spine.

“You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain,” Arthur sang along softly to the song. “To me you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny, yeah… Won’t you tell me is that healthy, baby?”

Yao leaned his chin on Arthur shoulder and closed his eyes in contentment. Yao allowed the Englishman’s voice lull him into another world, where nothing else mattered and it was just the two of them.


	10. Chapter 10

Arthur and Yao had been dating for four years now, but they had not slept together. The most they had ever done was some heavy making-out and fondling one another.

Arthur was waiting because Yao didn’t seem ready to take the next step in their relationship.

Yao, on the other hand, was nervous about taking the next step in their relationship. It was his first serious relationship, and all his previous relationships had not lasted long enough for him and his partner to progress further.

But Arthur and Yao had talked about having sex. Or as Arthur put it, making love. Yao wanted his first time to be special, he wanted to do it with someone he truly loved. He truly loved Arthur, so why not?

In contrast, Arthur had experience in the bedroom, and could be considered the more experienced of the two, but found that he had no inclination to have sex for his carnal desires. He just wanted Yao to be ready. In fact, Arthur didn’t mind if they did not have sex ever. He was too much in love with Yao to bother about such petty matters.

Together, Arthur and Yao decided that they would do the deed that night.

Yao was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on the oversized shirt he wore nervously. It was actually Arthur’s shirt; Yao had gotten into the habit of wearing his boyfriend’s shirts lately. When Arthur inquired why, Yao simply replied that Arthur’s clothes smelt of Arthur, and he liked the way Arthur smelt.

Arthur was lighting a candle by his study table. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, you know.”

Yao shook his head. “No, aru. I’m ready. I can do this,” he said determinedly. “Unless you don’t want to?”

Arthur chuckled to himself. “I don’t want to if you don’t want to. I believe sex should be consensual.”

Yao nodded. His mind had been made up. “Let’s do this.”

Arthur chortled and switched off the lights. His room was now illuminated by the lights coming from the candles he had lit. “It doesn’t have to be so serious,” he told Yao. “Just… just go with the flow.”

Yao swung his bare legs onto the bed. He was not wearing any pants; he only had on his boxers. “O-okay, aru.”

Arthur made his way over to the bed, and climbed onto it. He positioned himself on top of Yao. “Just relax.” Arthur gently pushed Yao down onto the bed so that he was lying down.

Arthur then straddled Yao. He leaned forward and kissed Yao on the collar. Yao threw his head back, exposing his neck, and allowing Arthur to gain access to it. He gasped in surprise as he felt electricity course through his veins as his and Arthur’s bare skin came into contact with one another. Yao had never felt that before. Was it because they were about to perform the most intimate act that he felt that way?

“Tell me if you like something I’m doing, okay?”

Yao nodded. Even if he was not looking at Arthur, he could feel the love radiating from Arthur.

Arthur reached forward and pressed his lips against Yao’s. “I love you,” he murmured into the kiss. “I love you so much.”

Yao smiled kindly, and returned the kisses Arthur was showering him with. Arthur tasted of tea and cinnamon, and Yao felt himself drawn into the way Arthur tasted.

Arthur ran his tongue over Yao’s throat. He thought Yao was rather adorable with how his Adam’s apple was bobbing up and down and quivering anxiously. Without warning, Arthur bit down on Yao’s neck, near his collarbone.

Yao cried out in surprise.

Arthur sucked hard on the area he had bitten. He wanted to mark Yao. He wanted to claim Yao. He wanted to proclaim that Yao was his and his alone.

“Arthur… ah! It is going to bruise, aru!” gasped Yao.

Arthur smirked to himself. “That is kind of the point, isn’t it?”

Yao pulled Arthur’s face to his, and kissed him on the lips. _I’m yours_ , it seemed to convey.

Arthur sneaked his hands up Yao’s shirt. Well, the shirt belonged to him and Yao was simply borrowing it, but it wasn’t important now… His nimble fingers began to play with Yao’s nipple. Arthur dislodged his mouth from Yao’s lips and started trailing wet kisses down the back of Yao’s ear.

Yao arched his back, gasping when Arthur tugged particularly hard on an already perk nipple.

“Don’t think,” whispered Arthur into Yao’s ear. “Let me make you feel good tonight.”

Arthur really didn’t need to tell Yao that – he couldn’t think; he couldn’t even form a coherent word. Yao could feel himself getting hard from within his boxers, but he couldn’t convey it to Arthur.

Arthur tilted his head and took Yao’s bottom lip in his teeth, nibbling on it lightly. He gave it a long lick for good measure.

Yao’s left hand moved up to the back of Arthur’s head, and brought them closer to one another. Yao slid his tongue against Arthur’s lips, messily flicking over Arthur’s tongue when it escaped his mouth.

Arthur reached forward to unbutton Yao’s shirt. He did not stop kissing Yao.

Yao, on the other hand, didn’t quite know what to do with his hands. Should he undress Arthur as well?

Arthur hummed lightly as his fingers deftly popped open the buttons on Yao’s shirt.

Yao decided that he would begin to undress Arthur too. After all, Arthur was wearing more clothes than he had on, so Yao assumed that it would take longer to get him completely naked. With shaky hands, Yao tugged on the T-shirt the Englishman was wearing.

Arthur noticed Yao’s attempts to remove his clothes. He let out a puff of air in amusement. Arthur briefly let go of Yao and yanked his T-shirt over his head. He threw it across the room; he didn’t see where it landed, but he didn’t care. Then, Arthur looked at Yao with a raised eyebrow. _Satisfied?_

Yao encircled his arms around Arthur’s torso. He brought Arthur closer and leaned his head on the Englishman’s back.

Arthur lowered himself onto Yao’s throat again. He ran his fingers down Yao’s shoulders, slipping the shirt off Yao.

Yao was now clad in only his boxers. Normally, he would feel self-conscious about his state of attire, but what Arthur’s hands were doing was distracting Yao.

Arthur bit hard on the juncture between Yao’s neck and shoulder.

“Ngh!!” Yao tried to muffle the sounds he was making with his hand over his mouth.

Arthur pried Yao’s hand away from his mouth. “Don’t be shy,” he told Yao. “I want to hear you.”

Blood rushed to Yao’s face, and he shook his head, pressing his lips together.

Arthur chuckled lightly. Yao was so cute. “At least say my name?” Arthur encouraged. He palmed Yao’s growing erection through his boxers. Arthur himself was rock hard by then, but he didn’t let his discomfort show.

“AH!” Yao cried out, bucking into Arthur’s hand. Arthur’s hand felt so good pressed against his cock. “Arthur… harder… please…” Yao gasped. He didn’t like to beg, but he wanted more.

Arthur snickered softly, and gave Yao’s penis a squeeze.

Yao stiffened and tightened his hold on Arthur’s bare shoulders. He was trying not to dig his nails into Arthur’s back, but it was proving very hard with the way Arthur was making him feel. As Arthur retracted his hand, Yao felt himself leaning into it instinctively, pulling himself closer to Arthur.

Arthur kissed Yao’s mouth passionately. “Say my name.”

Yao’s eyes slipped close, revelling in the sensations Arthur was producing from within him. “Arthur…” he mumbled into the kiss.

Arthur reached the waistband of Yao’s boxers, hooking his fingers under elastic. When he received no protest, he slipped them down and off, moving back up to once again trail his lips over Yao’s skin. Arthur slid his hands down over the other’s sides, the small of his back, before finally cupping Yao’s butt.

Yao made a quiet grunt as he felt Arthur grab his butt.

Arthur feasted his eyes upon Yao’s naked form, writhing in pleasure beneath him. His pupils dilated in lust. Yao was simply beautiful.

“What… what are you staring at, aru?”

Arthur shook his head. “Just admiring you, love,” he replied. “You are so stunning.”

The Asian man flushed. He didn’t think it was possible for his face to get any redder. But apparently it was. “Don’t say such… AH!” Yao made a loud cry when Arthur’s fingers wrapped themselves around his length. Suddenly, Yao felt all his blood rush to his cock as Arthur stroked it gently.

Arthur tongue lapped on Yao’s chest, his teeth biting and nipping on his pale skin. He pumped Yao’s penis agonisingly slowly, making Yao groan at the pace. Yao grinded into Arthur’s hand, desperately seeking for more friction. Arthur smeared the pre-cum all over Yao’s cock. Yao moaned loudly; the vibrations from his voice sent shivers down Arthur’s spine and straight to his penis. Arthur could even feel his erection twitch in anticipation, even though it was still within the confines of his pants.

In frustration, Yao accidentally sunk his teeth into Arthur’s collarbone.

Startled but not in any pain whatsoever, Arthur suddenly tightened his grip on Yao’s groin.

“Hnngh!”

Arthur decided to test the waters. He lifted Yao’s legs and inserted a finger into Yao’s entrance.

Startled by the intrusion, Yao yelped.

“Sorry, sorry…” Arthur apologised. “Just wanted to see how receptive you’d be.”

Yao exhaled. He tilted his head, assuring Arthur that he was alright and it was okay.

Arthur reached for the side table and grabbed the tube of lube he had set aside. He pressed a generous amount onto his hand, parted Yao’s legs and started stretching him out. Arthur started with one finger, eventually adding another, and another; his fingers moved within Yao’s hole to open him up so that he could accommodate Arthur’s penis.

At first, Yao was not used to Arthur’s finger in his ass, and squirmed about in discomfort. A few stray tears leaked out from his eyes. But Arthur’s other hand that was pumping his cock had hastened its pace, making Yao focus on that motion instead.  Yao could feel even more blood rushing to that organ. As Arthur increased the amount of fingers he was using to stretch Yao out, the soreness slowly turned into pleasure, and Yao felt his vision get blurry from the wonderful sensations he was experiencing. Yao supposed that his sight was not as important as his ability to feel right now.

When Arthur felt that he had opened Yao up enough, his hand moved up to brush Yao’s tears away. “You okay?”

Wordlessly, Yao nodded. _I’m okay. I’m alright._

Arthur undid his belt buckle and the zipper of his pants. He pulled down his pants and his boxers along with it, thus freeing his erection from his trousers. His cock stood up proudly.

Yao could just make out Arthur’s face through his blurry vision.

“You ready?” inquired Arthur.

Yao nodded and shut his eyes tightly. He honestly didn’t know what to expect.

Arthur lifted Yao’s parted legs high up until they were touching Yao’s chest so that he had better access to Yao’s asshole. Arthur thanked the gods that Yao was a figure-skater and was so flexible. He rubbed his length against Yao’s ass to further arouse the Chinese man and then began slowly pushing it into his entrance. After he had gone in a considerable length, Arthur paused and looked worriedly at Yao. He wanted to give Yao time to accommodate his penis.

Yao’s eyes had scrunched up in pain. He was panting breathlessly, trying to get used to Arthur’s cock in his ass.

Arthur leaned forward and kissed Yao on the lips. _It’s okay, it’s going to be okay._ “Your smell… your softness… The way my body feels against yours… How it feels when I touch you… There’s nothing I like more than that,” Arthur murmured against Yao’s lips.

“Mmm…” When Yao’s expression had relaxed considerably, Arthur pushed his length further in. After Arthur had fully embedded his cock within Yao, he stopped and waited as Yao grew accustomed to Arthur’s penis.

Finally, Yao grunted, “Move…”

Arthur took that as his cue to thrust in and out of Yao. Yao was so hot and so tight; all Arthur wanted to do was to fuck Yao until he was unable to stand or walk. Or even leave Arthur’s side, for that matter.

Arthur thrust slowly into Yao, teasing him mercilessly.

Yao arched his back at the contentment of being filled. His grunts slowly turned into moans of pleasure.

As soon as Arthur could see that Yao was enjoying it, he stopped holding back. He could feel Yao’s legs wrap around his waist, pulling him even closer to Yao’s body. Arthur pressed into Yao, and immediately found Yao’s pleasure spot.

When Arthur thrust into his good spot, Yao lost his vision and he saw stars. “AHH-HA…!” Yao clenched and tightened against Arthur’s cock within him, pulling Arthur deeper and deeper with each thrust.

Arthur’s steady breathing turned into short, breathless pants as he, too, lost control. His pace quickened, slamming into Yao wantonly. Arthur was close to completion.

“Mine, you’re mine… all mine…” mumbled Arthur against the side of Yao’s head, as he planted kisses there.

Yao listened to the sounds of their pants, moans and grunts, and briefly marvelled at how in sync he was with Arthur. He could feel their breath mingling, their skin sliding perfectly together, their hearts beating rapidly in a similar tempo. The rhythm of the noises they were making drove Yao to completion.

Arthur could feel Yao shake and tighten one last time, indicating Yao was about to meet his release. He kissed Yao’s lips, muffling Yao’s long, drawn-out moan as he came.

A few more thrusts later, Arthur, too, found his release, and spilled his seed into Yao’s body.

Yao shuddered as he felt the warmth from Arthur’s essence fill his inside. It wasn’t a bad feeling. It was just that it was so sudden – Yao was surprised at the sensation.

Arthur pulled out of Yao and gently placed his legs back down onto the bed. “I love you,” he said softly, brushing a lock of sweaty hair from Yao’s face.

Yao smiled sleepily at Arthur. There were tears leaking from his eyes. Arthur brushed them away with his thumb. “Did I hurt you?”

Yao shook his head.

“But you’re crying,” Arthur pointed out worriedly.

“I’m happy, Arthur, aru,” Yao replied, half-sobbing and half-laughing. “I’ve never been happier in my life. I love you too.” His voice trailed off. It was obvious that Yao was exhausted from their love-making.

Arthur sighed in relief and made himself comfortable on the bed beside Yao. He wrapped his strong arms around the small Asian man and threw a blanket over their bodies. “Go to sleep,” he murmured. “I will be here in the morning.” Arthur pressed his lips against Yao’s throat.

Yao did not have to be told twice. He snuggled into Arthur’s embrace, sighing contentedly. His eyes slipped close and then he was out like a light.

Tenderly, Arthur removed the ribbon holding Yao’s hair in its ponytail. It couldn’t be comfortable sleeping with one’s hair tied up like that. Arthur discarded the ribbon over the side of the bed (he would look for it in the morning).

Arthur then kissed Yao on the forehead before nestling deeper into the blanket, still holding onto Yao, as he fell asleep beside Yao, happy and contented.


End file.
